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Soaring on Wings of Creativity

by Jean Van't Hul
April 25, 2013

Soaring on Wings of Creativity

Today is the last day of The Artist's Way course that I've been taking. A bittersweet day. Yes, this amazing class is over but I am a different person now with the tools and the confidence to go forward on my own—to continue to explore my own creativity and to make art. 

Heck, I made myself wings! 

Feather detail on wings

Wings for my creativity.

Remember when I sewed wings for Maia and Daphne? I think I mentioned that great quote about giving your kids wings: 

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children: one is roots, the other is wings. -Hodding Carter

Wings of Creativity

I love that quote, but you know what? As parents, we need to make sure our own wings are in working order as well. And mine weren't. Not really. They were dusty and forgotten. I wrote in my morning pages more than once that they felt clipped.

Wings of Creativity

It took this life-changing course for me to identify the broken set of wings in the corner of the attic as mine and to dust them off, give them a fresh coat of paint, and lavish them with the love and attention they needed.

Wings of Creativity

I'm not saying I'm soaring yet, but I've taken enough steps in the right direction, both mentally and physically, over these 12 weeks that I know I will be up there riding the winds in the not-too-distant future.

Wings of Creativity

And I am committed.

I am committed for my own sake, but also for the sake of my kids. Because how can I show them how to fly if my own wings don't work?

It's hard to give our children wings if our own are clipped.

Do you have any dreams that you need to dust off and welcome back into your life?

Wings of Creativity

P.S. Maia says she wants to make a set of these paper wings now!

P.P.S. Some notes on the wings:

  • The wings are double-sided and also very flexible, as you can see here. Some paints might be brittle or crack, but I used
    BioColor paints
    on both sides of the
    white butcher paper
    which created a thin, plasticky layer that is quite flexible. The head is made from poster board and glued to the body.
  • Feathers were drawn on with Sharpie markers, including metallic ones. In addition, individual paper feathers were drawn, cut out, and glued on. Maia and Daphne even helped make some! And some were cut from an Artist's Way group art piece (we had a class assignment to incorporate the group art piece into an artwork of our own).
  • I wrote down the ideas, things, artists, and authors who influence my creativity and who I am on the inner side of the bird—one to a feather. 

Note: This post contains affiliate links for the art supplies mentioned.

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